Lessons from Canada’s African Immigrants — News — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The global conversation on migration is rapidly evolving, and nowhere is this more evident than in North America, where both the United States and Canada continue to experience high levels of immigration. Amid debates over borders, economic opportunities and social integration, the question of how migrants access information has become increasingly important.

Access to information is not just about going online or reading job ads, it’s about understanding the deeper, often invisible challenges immigrants face when settling in new countries. For African immigrants in particular, these barriers are amplified by layers of intersectional issues, from race and language to identity and social networks.

Millicent Mabi, a scholar who earned her PhD from the University of British Columbia, Canada and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, USA is at the forefront of this conversation. Her work sheds critical light on how immigrants, particularly African immigrants in Canada, experience what she calls “informational inequity.”

Through his research, Mabi challenges traditional frameworks of information poverty and provides a more nuanced perspective on the obstacles skilled immigrants face in their job search and settlement processes.

In her recent paper, “Questioning the Role of Information Poverty in Immigrant Employment Acquisition: Empirical Evidence from African Immigrants in Canada,” Millicent interrogates how access to information—or lack thereof—affects employment outcomes for African immigrants in Metro Vancouver.

Reframing the problem from simple “informational poverty” to “informational inequity,” Mabi highlights how the intersection of race, immigration status, and identity complicates the immigrant experience in ways that existing frameworks fail to capture.

But why does this matter beyond Canada? As the world faces the increasing movement of people across borders, Millicent’s findings offer invaluable lessons for policymakers, employers and institutions in North America, the US and beyond. They illustrate the structural challenges African immigrants face, not only in accessing employment but also in navigating the wider social fabric of their new communities.

The changing information landscape after migration

For many African immigrants, the journey to North America is one filled with optimism and high expectations. Most arrive well educated, with significant work experience and the hope of better economic opportunities. However, as Millicent’s research shows, the reality they encounter is far from simple.

In Canada, African immigrants often find that their preexisting information-seeking strategies—whether job-related or otherwise—are no longer effective in their new environment. The post-migration information landscape is complex, full of unfamiliar jargon, hidden job opportunities, and outdated or irrelevant information. A typical job posting, for example, might appear to require higher-level responsibilities, only for the immigrant to later discover that it offers an entry-level salary. This disconnect results in missed opportunities and extended periods of underemployment.

Moreover, as Millicent argues, the problem is not just access to technology or information. Many immigrants have access to the Internet and mobile devices, but these tools are insufficient without the social networks and cultural understanding needed to make sense of the information available. The US faces similar problems. As the country continues to attract skilled migrants from around the world, it becomes increasingly important to understand how their pre-existing information practices must adapt to a new and often opaque system.

The role of social capital in informing employment

A key finding in Millicent’s research is the importance of social capital—defined as the connections, networks, and relationships that facilitate the exchange of information. For African immigrants, especially those who are new to Canada or the US, these networks are often weak or non-existent. Without strong social ties, immigrants struggle to gain access to the most valuable forms of information, such as job referrals or insider knowledge of employment sectors.

Reliance on formal channels such as job boards and online listings does little to fill this gap. In fact, it often exacerbates the problem by overwhelming immigrants with large amounts of irrelevant or outdated information. As one participant in Millicent’s study noted, browsing Canadian job postings without any local contacts felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This problem is not unique to Canada. In the US, African immigrants often face similar barriers, particularly in industries that prioritize networking and referrals over formal applications. The solution, as Millicent suggests, lies in creating more inclusive information ecosystems that recognize the importance of social capital in immigrant integration.

Intersectionality and access to information

One of the most innovative aspects of Millicent’s work concerns intersectionality—the idea that multiple aspects of an individual’s identity (such as race, gender, immigration status) intersect to shape their experiences in unique ways. Traditional information poverty frameworks, which assume a one-size-fits-all approach to information access, fail to account for these intersecting factors.

For African immigrants, the intersection of race and immigration status presents unique challenges. In her research, Millicent found that black African immigrants often face discrimination when seeking employment, not only because of their foreign qualifications, but also because of their racial identity. Participants in her study reported instances where they were denied opportunities or faced skepticism about their abilities simply because of the way they looked or spoke.

In the US, where conversations about race and immigration are more polarized than ever, Millicent’s findings provide a critical lens through which to view these debates. Immigration policies and support systems must take into account that not all immigrants face the same barriers and that solutions must be tailored to address the specific challenges faced by racial minorities.

From information poverty to information equity

Perhaps the most significant contribution of Millicent’s research is her proposal to move from ‘information poverty’ to ‘information equity’. The term “information poverty” implies that immigrants simply lack something, whether it’s access to technology or the ability to navigate information systems. But as Millicent’s research shows, many African immigrants are not information poor in the traditional sense. They are well educated, technologically savvy and have access to digital resources. The problem lies in the mismatch between available information and the unique needs of immigrants.

Millicent’s concept of “informational equity” calls for a more nuanced approach that takes into account diverse immigrant identities and experiences. This approach recognizes that access to information is not just about technology, but about ensuring that the information provided is relevant, accessible and tailored to the specific challenges faced by different immigrant groups.

Global implications for migration and integration

Millicent’s work, while focused on African immigrants in Canada, has far-reaching implications for migration and integration efforts in North America and beyond. As the U.S. continues to grapple with immigration reform, her findings provide valuable insights into how to support skilled immigrants who face barriers not because of their qualifications, but because of systemic issues related to access to information and social integration.

Policymakers, employers, and immigrant support services in Canada and the US must recognize that informational equity is crucial to the successful integration of immigrants. By addressing the unique challenges African immigrants face, we can begin to create more inclusive information systems that enable all immigrants to thrive in their new environments.

Millicent Mabi’s work, including her University of British Columbia dissertation available through the UBC Circle Digital Repository, continues to shed light on these critical issues. As we look to the future of global migration, its research serves as an essential guide to creating more equitable and inclusive societies—one in which all individuals, regardless of their background, have the tools they need to succeed.

Conclusion

The ongoing global migration crisis requires more than political solutions. A deep understanding of how migrants access and use information in their new environments is needed. Millicent Mabi’s ground-breaking work on information inequity provides a road map for how we can close the gap between the promise of migration and the reality of integration. For African immigrants, and indeed for all immigrants, the road to success in North America is paved not only with opportunity, but also with fair access to the information they need to navigate their new world.